


Challenge Accepted...a Dead to Me/Grace and Frankie crossover

by Kissmekate_m



Category: Grace and Frankie (TV)
Genre: F/F, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25762666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kissmekate_m/pseuds/Kissmekate_m
Summary: Per a Tumblr request...Judy and Jen buy Babe's house and meet their new neighbors Grace and Frankie + Robert and Sol.Set in season 7
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	Challenge Accepted...a Dead to Me/Grace and Frankie crossover

**Author's Note:**

  * For [emotionalpanda](https://archiveofourown.org/users/emotionalpanda/gifts).



One day a For Sale sign was up in Babe's old yard. It might have went unnoticed if it weren't for the whole Rise Up mishap that brought Robert and Sol into Grace and Frankie's house which had then driven Frankie to spend more and more time outside on the beach.

Thus, the sign did get noticed. It was a random Wednesday, maybe, Frankie couldn't quite remember anymore, all the days sort of started to run together after she turned 80. Being an octogenarian had its benefits. 

Frankie turned to watch her favorite seagull, Douglas, come in for a landing on the beach. She had named him Douglas because Englebert Humperdinck was a ridiculous name for a seagull, and a bit too on the nose given he was now a painful part of the whole Nickgate debacle....but Hannah Gadsby had somewhat restored her faith in the younger generation. 

"Damn covid and 2020...making me keep track of my purse and my mask…" grumbled Frankie as she noticed a small group of people milling around Babe's property. That's also when she noticed the For sale sign now said sold on it too.

"Deja vu...but at least Babe got to have a going away party before her house was sold from underneath her" said Frankie as she imagined Douglas agreeing with her sentiment. "Meh, you're probably just hungry for your midmorning snack...which I know is stashed in one of these pockets...ugh, people means I have to find my mask too...hang on."

***  
Judy had initially walked out onto the beach with the intent of observing the lighting. That and she was secretly hoping she would find a muse or a way to paint again now that she and Jen were living in a completely different house and starting this next chapter of their lives together. Which is why she briefly paused and leaned up against the for sale sign to glance down the beach to notice her new next door neighbor. "Intriguing, maybe she's my muse after all" thought Judy observing the older woman in profile as she fed the seagull who obviously knew it was brunch time. But it was the contrast between this woman's obvious older woman vibe, and fashion style combined with a Patrick Starfish mask that made Judy smile in delight behind her own cat whiskers designed mask.

Judy walked cautiously forward and waited for the older woman to take notice of her before saying anything. Once she was positive the other woman had seen her, Judy said, "Hi, I'm guessing we're neighbors. It's nice to meet you."

For her part, Frankie noticed the younger, rather bohemian looking woman approaching her and felt a sixth sense almost, connection to a fellow artist. Even without meeting her officially, Frankie knew Babe would approve of this person taking up residence in her old home. "Love the black cat mask... definitely a fellow artist and free spirit, hopefully a new friend too" thought Frankie as she fed Douglas his last bite of gefilte fish and turned her attention towards the woman who was introducing herself. 

"Hi back. I'm Frankie. I would shake your hand but welcome to 2020 I guess so… Anyway, I knew the woman who lived there for many years, I like to think she'd approve of a young artist free spirit such as yourself moving in to bring new life and memories to the place."

"I'm Judy, and yes, absolutely, I noticed the presence of the previous resident right away. She was obviously a fabulous, amazing person. It's unfortunate we didn't get to meet in this same reality timeline. So...you're an artist? I actually came out here to check out the lighting and the overall landscape for painting, if I decide to pick up a brush again that is… Who's your friend? He looks like he might have wanted one last bite of fish, or maybe a bit of after dinner conversation which I rudely interrupted.."

"His name is Douglas...Douglas meet...Judy, was it? I hate these damn masks you can't read lips while wearing them."

"Yes, Judy. And I know right? But if you have to wear one you might as well make a statement. Which I gotta say, I love the SpongeBob reference…"

"Thank you. Grace doesn't appreciate the satire, she's all..why can't you just wear a plain neutral color mask", said Frankie with a shake of her head and a sigh.

"Exactly. I had that very same conversation with Jen"

"Jen?"

"Yes, she's my housemate slash best friend slash uptight nemesis slash soulmate. We moved here after our husbands both died, hoping for a new start in a new place for us and her sons…"

"Exactly. Jen sounds like my Grace, except our ex husbands just moved back in 7 years after the divorce. It's a long story...which I can regale you with over some of Grace's vodka stash or my more medicinal stash of that's your thing."

"I would love to share a bit of natural medicine with you and swap stories about uptight roommates...lead on McDuff"

***  
For her part Grace never really thought she'd live to see the day she would crave human interaction, or the idea of going out to a crowded public venue, over Netflix and chill with a very well made martini, or three. But here she was. "Just another crazy side effect of being forced into being introverted I guess" thought Grace as she walked to Frankie's studio to share the news that the local art museum was going to open to very small groups of people and suggest that she and Frankie reserve a spot on the waiting list for a tour. 

That's when she heard an unfamiliar voice combined with Frankie's signature laugh coming from the studio. "Ugh, what fresh hippy hell is this?" Surely Frankie wasn't crazy enough to bring a complete stranger into their home during a pandemic...or maybe she was. Either way, Grace let out a sigh as she lightly knocked on the studio door.

Frankie pointed her joint at Jen and said, "Here comes the kill joy. She's prolly gonna lecture me about smoking with strangers...it's not like I didn't provide you with your own joint and set you up with your own chair at a safe social distance away…"

"I feel so known, as Madison says" said Grace by way of greeting. "That and I am not as much of a killjoy as you would lead your new friend to believe... although I blame you entirely for that change… so...how's Douglas? And who's your new friend?"

"Douglas continues to be the only being I know who actually likes gefilte fish and comes back for seconds..so he's his usual quirky self. This is my new friend Judy. She and her "you" named Jen are our new neighbors. They bought Babe's house…"

With an eye roll and a slight sigh, Grace thought, just this is just one more thing in a bunch of crazy things to happen in 2020...out loud she said, " it's nice to meet you Judy, I'm Grace."

"It's nice to meet you, Grace. And I am pretty sure I know your daughter Brianna, at least socially. My friend and roommate Jen is much more bougie than I am, but she is always raving about her favorite lipstick from the Say Grace product line and dragging me to some type of high society fundraiser or dinner or like that, where I've met Brianna or more greeted her in a meet and greet line after a presentation."

"Well it's always nice to be recognized or have true loyal customers...so thank you. I heard Frankie mention you're our new neighbor then?"

"Yes, yes I am, or more yes Jen and I are. I'm a typical starving artist, so my day job is working as an activities director and art teacher at the nursing home. I particularly like working with the Alzheimer's patients. It's so much fun watching them laugh and smile and enjoy themselves as we play with Barbies or paint our nails or actually create finger painting…but I digress... sometimes it's best just to say, shut up Judy and talk over me…"

At that comment Frankie and Grace share a significant look as Frankie hands Grace a freshly rolled joint. 

"To new friends"

"Here here"

"Salud"

***

Jen looked around at all the half unpacked boxes and thought, "Typical Judy, leave all the work for me". Especially because Henry had picked this particular weekend to spend with his best friends saying goodbye before he moved away completely. "I'm guessing she's over talking to our new neighbors". So with a sigh, Jen dug out her mask and walked out the front door to go on a search mission. 

Robert looked quizzically at Sol as someone knocked on the door. "Were you expecting a delivery or is this someone for Frankie?" he asked as he went to the door. 

"No delivery for me...I think Frankie is probably in her studio and I thought I saw Grace head down the path a bit earlier"

"Hi. May I help you?"

"Yes, hopefully. Hi. My name is Jen Harding. I'm your new neighbor. My roommate and friend Judy is probably here somewhere avoiding helping me unpack and move in officially."

"Please come in. I'm Robert, this is my husband Sol. My guess is your friend, Judy was it? is in the studio with our ex wives Grace and Frankie. Follow me, I'll show you the way back there."

"Nice to meet you"

"You as well. So..you and your friend bought Babe's old house?. That's good. It was rather melancholy seeing it set empty after her death. I'm glad someone new is bringing some life back into the house.

"Yes, Judy and I are both widows rather unexpectedly, so it's been good to finally find a new place to start over in. I'm hopeful Henry, my younger son, likes it here...I'm thinking the beach for a backyard is going to be a selling point. My older son Charlie just rented his own apartment, so he'll be in and out…" 

"Ahh yes I remember those days well. Grace and I have two daughters, Sol and Frankie have two sons. The kids grew up with this as a vacation home. Sol and I were law partners before we got married, and in some ways this is STILL our vacation home. Our house is being renovated, but Grace and Frankie live here full-time…oh listen to me, you must think I'm a doddering old fool, and where are my manners? Would you care for a drink or something before I take you back to the studio?"

"You're not a doddering old fool honey, but you did forget your manners. Hi, I'm Sol and please let me offer you something to drink or a bite to eat...you can also take your mask off if you wish, that's up to you."

Jen removed her mask. "Ugh, I just can't quite get used to wearing a mask as the new normal. Welcome to 2020 I guess. Do you guys happen to have a glass of white wine?" 

"A woman after my own heart. Although Robert makes a very dry martini if you prefer...as that's Grace's drink of choice."

"Is this your daughter? Brianna? I love my lipstick from Say Grace. It was a surprise to hear that the company merged with a different beauty company based in San Francisco…"

"Yes, Grace recently mentioned the merger. Our younger daughter Mallory moved to San Francisco to facilitate the transition. Welcome to 2020 indeed" said Robert handing Jen a glass of wine.

Grace walked into the kitchen. "Robert, you'll never guess who...or maybe you will actually. Hi, I'm Grace you must be Judy's friend and roommate Jen. She speaks highly of you."

Looking back and forth between Grace and Jen...Robert pondered, not for the first time, whether there was some type of subtext meaning to how each woman referred to Frankie and Judy as "friend" or "roommate". But best not to go down that path, especially as Sol gave him a significant look that said telepathically, if the subtext was to be confirmed, he would owe Sol $50 and would never hear the end of the "I told you so's".

Then Frankie and Judy came through the door, arms linked at the elbows. "Don't flip out, you bunch of nervous Nancy's... we're not holding hands or like that...and I know I have my mask stuffed in one of these pockets…"

At that Grace, Robert, Sol, and Jen exchanged a significant look plus collective eye roll. Robert found his voice first. "It's nice to officially meet you Judy. I think there's probably a cheese tray in the fridge or definitely some chicken salad. Would you like to join us for a midday snack?"

"That sounds lovely. It's nice to meet you too…although forgive my ignorance, are you Robert or Sol?"

"Robert."

"I'm Sol... nice to meet you"

"As long as it's not gefilte fish, I'm game for a snack with new friends" said Frankie.

"Oh I'm pretty sure we can collectively agree that Douglas is the only one who likes gefilte fish after the first taste…" said Judy with a laugh.

"Here's to that consensus amongst new friends" said Robert as everyone raised their glasses in toast.

"To Douglas...this is all his fault. Dang lesbian appreciating seagull…" 

"To Douglas…"


End file.
